Wandering via the beginning of the baseball season whereas pulling over to the aspect of the street for a short relaxation on a lazy Sunday morning in early May.
Here’s what we’ve realized up to now.
Shades of 1997
The 1997 Cubs misplaced their first 14 video games, setting a National League report and successfully ending their season earlier than it ever acquired off the bottom.
The White Sox’s 7-21 begin was related, although supervisor Pedro Grifol insisted after the 10-game dropping streak hope remained regardless of being 14 video games beneath .500 on April 30.
“It doesn’t feel like that,” Grifol mentioned. “I can’t explain that feeling. I wake up every morning, and my feeling is today is going to be the start of something good. That’s how we prepare, that’s how we work, that’s how we address things. That’s what we do. …. I don’t feel this is over by any means.”
The Sox scored seventh ninth-inning runs the following day in a comeback win over the Tampa Bay Rays and gained two of three in opposition to the division-leading Minnesota Twins to remain inside eight video games.
After Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Reds in Cincinnati, they had been 11-23 and eight video games again.
Brian McRae, the beginning heart fielder on the 1997 Cubs, is aware of the sensation. He mentioned the objective after falling 14 video games beneath was to simply get near .500 and see what would possibly occur.
“We played the Braves and Marlins back-to-back to start the season, and all those great starters like (Greg) Maddux, (John) Smoltz, (Tom) Glavine, Kevin Brown and Alex Fernandez,” he mentioned. “Before we had an opportunity to catch our breath, we’d already had double doses of the Marlins and Braves — dealing with Cy Young candidates for 2 weeks straight.
“We never recovered, but we almost got it back to .500, maybe six games within .500. But we spent so much energy just trying to get back to .500 and make it somewhat respectable.”
Likewise, the Sox performed seven of their first 28 video games in opposition to the Rays, the very best workforce within the majors this season. They went 1-6.
McRae mentioned he has watched the Sox and know they’ve sufficient expertise to get again into the race.
“Their division is bad,” he mentioned. “But it’s going to be powerful. We weren’t good, however we performed onerous and we didn’t have cases of fellows not working out balls (like Luis Robert) and all of the lapses in judgment. We simply acquired beat.
“They have talent, but they just don’t look like they care. Something is going on there that’s festered. It looks like they don’t even like being around each other.”
‘Players helping players’
White Sox nearer Liam Hendriks publicly thanked Cubs pitcher and fellow most cancers survivor Jameson Taillon upon his return final week for some phrases of inspiration throughout his battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The two didn’t know one another, however Taillon reached out to share some recommendation he had obtained from former Colorado Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis, who had survived testicular most cancers.
“There’s not that many baseball players that have been affected by cancer,” Taillon instructed the Tribune. “I feel like it’s a pretty small number. Then obviously (we’re) two baseball players playing in the same city that have been affected by it. I just felt called to reach out to him and make sure he was doing all right.”
Bettis instructed Taillon to observe his personal path, which Taillon handed on to Hendriks.
“There are a lot of people in the world that know what you’re going through (with) cancer, but not professionally and with what you’re battling personally off the field,” Taillon mentioned. “Chad Bettis instructed me: ‘Bro, if you think you want to keep throwing when you’re getting remedy, go for it. If you wish to shut it down and utterly get away from baseball, it’s your journey. Do no matter it is advisable do. No one actually is aware of what you’re going via. No one can inform you what to do. …
“That felt really powerful to me when I was going through it. So I felt like I needed to pass it along.”
Taillon mentioned being on the mound generally is a “safe space,” and pitching may very well be a much-needed distraction. He plans to speak with Hendriks through the City Series.
“Players helping players,” he mentioned.
David Ross will get an A-plus from his boss
Ross’ managing already has been a recurring theme of the Cubs season, as indicated by the response through the latest 1-6 journey.
“Is everybody mad at me?” he facetiously requested.
Well, a number of.
Ross mentioned he’s nice with taking the blame from followers for the downturn and hopes gamers get all of the credit score once they’re successful.
What else is a supervisor going to say: “Blame them, not me”?
Cubs President Jed Hoyer, naturally, had no concept his supervisor was taking some flack or whether or not any of it was deserved.
“I don’t read any of it, so I don’t know,” mentioned Hoyer, a prolific reader. “I have my own opinions about everything. We talk every day. He’s A-plus in the clubhouse every day. We talk about all the decisions.”
Hoyer modified the topic, saying the Cubs “obviously have to do better” in one-run video games and noting the hitters “were at a level offensively that was bound to come down a little bit.”
Clark the Cub channels his internal Owsley
The Cubs have scheduled a May 23 giveaway to commemorate the farewell live shows of Dead & Company, which options the surviving members of the Grateful Dead. Fans will be capable to decide a unique coloured bobblehead of Clark the Cub, who’s positioned just like the dancing bear emblem made well-known by the Grateful Dead.
The emblem was a nod to Owsley “Bear” Stanley, the unique Grateful Dead sound man who was famend for manufacturing LSD. From Owsley to Clark the Cub? It has been an extended, unusual journey, certainly.
Stat of the day
Major-league relievers had a mixed 24% strikeout price on Saturday, a tick above final yr’s 23.6% price. In 1997, relievers struck out hitters at an 18.5% price, setting a report. That season now ranks twenty first all time, and the league common has been over 22% each season since 2014.
Sunday morning flashback
It was May 2006 when the Cubs determined to cease enjoying Van Halen’s “Jump” earlier than the beginning of each recreation, as had been executed most days because it turned the opening theme on WGN-Ch. 9 telecasts in 1984. The exception to the rule was on the day of the primary scheduled evening recreation in 1988, when the Cubs performed Frank Sinatra’s “Night and Day.”
Instead of utilizing “Jump” day by day in ‘06, the Cubs marketing department decided to go with a rotation that included songs from Cold Play and U2. Eventually the opening songs were tailored to the day’s beginning Cubs pitcher, which is why you’ve by no means heard of so lots of the songs used to begin video games at Wrigley Field.
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com